When The Morning Breaks Us
by saamiiieexbaabee
Summary: Shaun was used to being used. He was used by the man he loved everyday and he allowed it but now his lover is finished with him and Shaun is left broken. Can another mend his broken heart?
1. Bittersweet

**When The Morning Breaks Us**

**Summary: **Shaun was used to being used. He was used by the man he loved everyday and he allowed it but now his lover is finished with him and Shaun is left broken. Can another mend his broken heart?

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**Songs That Inspired This Chapter:**

Bittersweet by Ellie Goulding

Heart Of Stone by Iko

Cover Your Tracks by A Boy and his Kite

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**- Bittersweet -**

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**Shaun's Provo**

You'd think I'd be used to this by now. It'd been happening long enough and any normal person would of have begun to recognize a pattern. But I, Shaun Daxton Bennett was either to stupid to realize or was so in love that I didn't want to see what was happening before my eyes. In the beginning it was gentle touches, small smiles and love filled eyes. But now it was rough shoves, glares and only lust remained in those dark brown eyes that had once held so much love for me.

I knew deep down it was too good to be true and the past 6 months had been a indication that my fairy-tale was slowly coming to an end. I knew Paul would grow tired of being in a relationship. I knew that his hot - headed, cruel and manipulative side was slowly regaining control of him. He was slowly turning into the man I had loathed so many years ago yet I couldn't bring myself to stop loving him. A normal person with sense would of cut all ties when they first sensed danger but not me. I needed Paul. At least it felt like it.

I lay in our double bed, in our bedroom in our apartment. His tanned arm as lazily wrapped around my bare torso as he slept on his stomach his face, facing me as he quietly snored. I lay on my back staring at the ceiling. Tears welling in my eyes as I smelt the cheap perfume lingering on my boyfriends skin. How I had not noticed it when he came home I do not know. Maybe it was the fact he came straight through the door and threw me up against the wall and kissed me passionately so I'd be distracted long enough for the smell to fade. _"Did he really think I was that stupid?"_ I asked myself as I ran a hand through my thick chocolate brown curls. _"How did it come to this?" _I sighed in frustration. I knew deep down in my heart that Paul had long ago fallen out of love with me, he was just with me because he felt he had to be. I was now his toy whom he could use whenever he felt fit. I was no longer his boyfriend but rather his back up plan. I'm sure if he didn't catch any tail during the day he'd come home and fuck me but even as tonight showed, even if he did screw some chick he'd still come home to me and screw me too.

I didn't want to believe it. My heart cried for my head to shut up and let me live in my fantasy world where Paul Lahote still loved and adored me but I knew very well that my mind wouldn't silence its thoughts. I rubbed my eyes as I tried to keep my tears at bay. I knew he'd smell him and awake up to 'comfort' me. _"More like pity you."_ I mentally screamed at myself. I knew he would never hold me in the same way or comfort me the way he did and as realization sunk in I felt my heart slowly turn to stone and crumble away.

I rolled onto my side away from Paul. I lay on the edge of the bed with his arm laying where my body once lay.

I guess he felt me move and stirred in his sleep. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep as I felt him lift himself onto his elbows. I felt his sleepy gaze burn into my back. I shivered as I felt Paul's hand graze gently down my back. He chuckled at how he knew he made me feel. His touch sent my skin a blaze. He moved closer to me and pulled me back to the center of the bed. He moved his arm under my head and wrapped his other arm around my chest as he kissed the side of my neck. I shivered again. Mentally cursing the way he made me feel.

"So beautiful baby." He whispered huskily as he pushed my thick long curls out of the way so he had better excess to my neck. He sucked and nipped my skin causing me to moan.

Paul turn me on my back and pinned my arms above my head as he crawled on top of me. I stared into his eyes. He stared back as he used one hand to hold arms together above my head and the other to crease my cheek. I watched his eyes was he followed his hand that traced the right side of my face. He looked up at me and as his eyes met mine I tried to find any love left in them. I saw a glimmer of hope but it wasn't enough to make him stay.

"I love you Shaun." He whispered as he gently kissed my lips. I wanted to believe him but I knew it wasn't true. It was his way of keeping me. As long as I believed he loved me I'd stay. There was no love in those words. But yet they kept me in place.

I woke up the next morning alone. Paul's side of the bed was empty. I sat up and our room looked different. It felt colder and empty. I stood up and picked up my black boxers that had been thrown off the bed. I was scared to look in our draws as I noticed a lack of Paul s belongings on the dresser. I gingerly moved towards it and opened Paul's draw. Empty. I felt my knee's go weak as I clung to the dresser to keep me up. My stone heart broke in half and the reality of an empty draw meant. He was gone. For good.

I pushed myself off the dresser and stumbled into our living room/kitchen. I held myself up against the island in our kitchen. The spot where he had dashed his keys the night before was empty and in the keys place was a piece of tear stained paper. I reached a shaky hand towards it and choked back a sob as I took it in my hand and brought it towards me.

**_"My dearest Shaun, _**

**_I never wanted it to end like this. I thought I'd spend forever with you baby. I thought that it'd be you and me against this messed up world." _**

I felt the tears in my eyes as I read on.

**_"I didn't want this to happen but as I've learnt I can't ignore what's meant to be. I can't explain this to you even though it kills me knowing I'm leaving you without a proper explanation You may think of me as a coward but this is why I wrote this note instead. I couldn't bare to watch your heart break as I stand before you and tell you the contents of this letter. You know I hate seeing you cry.."_**

The tears ran down my face. This couldn't be happening.

**_"I'm going to miss you Shaun. I'm going to miss everything that made me fall in love with you. Your smile, your laugh, your eyes. Everything about you. I want to stop writing this letter and climb back into bed with you and leave the world behind but I'm afraid I am not able to. _**

**_I pray one day you may understand that I did this to give you a chance at a better life. A chance to live a normal life with someone who is truly devoted to you baby. It hurts me to know that I am not that person. I also pray that one day when you've met that person who can give you the world, when your married with a few kids, you'll remember me and find it in your heart to forgive me. If I had a choice baby I'd be that man. We'd spend forever together like we planed. _**

**_We'd get married, adopt a few kids and live on the beach somewhere away from our pasts. Just us together. But I'm not. I'm the man who broke your heart the moment I changed. I am so sorry Shaun._**

**_Goodbye baby,_**

**_Paul."_**

I sobbed as I reread the letter over and over again. Another piece of my heart broke as I read it another time. I was crushed, hurt, broken and alone. Paul knew I would be alone. I had no one left to comfort me and hold me while I tried to mend my broken heart. Paul knew that. My parents had died in a car crash that left me an orphan at fourteen. My sister, Abigail, had committed suicide the year before after miscarrying her first child, leaving me without any family. I was put into the system and was moved from foster home to foster home until I was eighteen and I ventured out on my own.

Paul knew I needed him. He was the first person I opened up to since my parents death. I let him in and let my walls crumble as I did so. I believed he was the one. He was an asshole to begin with but I melted the ice he had surrounding his heart. We had helped each other, fixed each other, yet that wasn't enough.

I felt my legs buckle underneath me and I sunk to the floor. My back against the kitchen cupboards, the letter in my hand. I refused to read it again. I just let my tears fall and my heart break.

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**Jacob's Provo**

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Everyone stood on the porch that belonged to Sam and Emily Uley. The pack was drenched from the morning showers and were thankful for the little bit of shelter we had. We had gathered to welcome a new member to the pack. It was a rare occasion.

We had been sure there were no more shifters in Forks, Washington but we had been wrong. Our brother had been living in Forks since his parents died and he had refused to return to LaPush. He had gotten into a bar fight and ended up phasing in the woods behind it. Sam was the one to find him and bring him back to the reservation. That's when he imprinted on my sister Rachel. And I Jacob Black was anything but pleased. I didn't like the look of this guy, Paul. He looked smug and was showing signs of a hothead. Another thing I didn't like about him was his smell. He smelt normal enough but under his aftershave was another scent.

It was sweet. Like vanilla and strawberries. A very femine smell which lead me to believe my sister's imprinter was already with another. It would explain why it took him so long to return to LaPush and join us as apart of the pack. He had spent the past six months coming and going always bring that sweet scent but leaving with another's. My sisters.

I wouldn't say I hated the guy. I just didn't trust him. I knew I was the only one who suspected something different about Paul Lahote. The others thought he was a good guy with nothing to hide but I didn't agree.

I was ripped out of my thoughts by the sound of a car's engine. I looked towards the top of the drive and watched as Paul's truck came down it. My sister Rachel grinned and waved at her imprinter. She was so naive. I glared at the vehicle as he parked outside of Sam and Emily's property. I noticed a few bags in Paul's back seat as he got out and opened his arms for my stupid older sister to run into them. The pack warmly greeted him as he approached the porch with Rachel clinging to his arm. He smiled at me. "Jacob."

"Whats with all the bags Paul? Going somewhere?" I asked harshly as I tied to stop myself from accusing a possibly innocent man.

Paul chuckled. "Yeah Jake. I've decided to stay in LaPush for good." He grinned at my sister who blushed. I nodded as I took a deep breathe. There it was. It was faint but it still lingered on Paul's clothes and his skin regardless of how much he tried to drowned it out with cheap aftershave.

"Whats up Jake man?" my best friend Quil asked me as I walked towards the stairs of the porch.

"Nothing." I mumbled. "I'll be back." I relied before I ran up the drive. Following the faint but oh so strong smell. It invaded my thoughts everyday for the past six months and I decided it was now or never. With Paul staying for good it would mean I would lose the possible chance of ever meeting the person the beautiful smell belonged to. I fet my heart race at the idea of meeting her._ "Could this be it?"_ I asked myself. Ever since I had lost the girl I loved to a vampire I had longed to imprint. I had been head over heels for Bella Swan but she had fallen for the enemy and even married him. I was disgusted and heart broken but I didn't dwell on her. After the wedding, she and her new family of leeches left Forks for Alaska to become one of them. The girl I loved died the moment she said "I do."

Since then I had hoped and pray that I'd find her. My imprint. The one to make me forget all the pain and suffering Bella put me through. To make me forget the nights I spent mending her broken heart and the nights I spent crying myself to sleep because she had yet again picked him over me. I grounded my teeth together as I picked up speed. I ran through Forks, faster than I had ever ran before. I smelt the scent get stronger as I reached a block of apartment buildings. I stopped outside the door. I could smell her. Her scent was strong in the air along with Paul's but his was slowly fading. I took in a deep breath as I opened the door to the apartment building and followed the scent up the stairs to the fifth floor.

I wondered the corridor in search for the door that hid the owner of the intoxicating scent. I ran down the halls before coming to a halt outside a blue door labelled "5B". The smell was the strongest here and so was Paul's. It may have been fading but it was still there. I gingerly lifted my hand was I knocked on the door and braced myself to come face to face with my possible imprint.

I heard ruffling behind the door and smiled as I heard the sound of someone unlock the door. The blue door gently opened. I looked down at her person in front of me. He was around 5'10 and was well built He wasn't ripped like me but he was of a decent muscle size. He had chocolate skin with really curly brown hair. He was wearing a tight black t shirt that showed off his well built frame and blue washed out jeans. I stared into his honey brown eyes and found myself lost in them.

"_It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like... gravity moves... suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does... You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend."_ The words of my father sped through my mind as I felt all the strings that had held me in place slowly disappear and reform around the man in front of me. He was perfect but even I could see he was broken.


	2. Beautiful Goodbye

**When The Morning Breaks Us**

**Summary: **Shaun was used to being used. He was used by the man he loved everyday and he allowed it but now his lover is finished with him and Shaun is left broken. Can another mend his broken heart?

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**Songs That Inspired This Chapter:**

Beautiful Goodbye by Maroon 5

The Sun Will Rise by Kelly Clarkson

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**- Beautiful Goodbye -**

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**Shaun's Provo**

I had spent all morning on the kitchen floor. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to breathe. Hell I didn't want to live. I was alone without anyone to save me from breaking. Paul was the glue that held me together and now he was gone I felt myself crumble. My heart was now a few pieces of stone in my chest. I'm surprised it was still beating. It was faint but I was sure I was going to die of a broken heart. Melodramatic yes but the pain in my chest was unbearable. I had lost so much already and now Paul.. Paul was the only thing keep me together and now I didn't know how I was going survive without him. I was content on holding onto the last remaining string that held us together but he had let go and let me fall with no one there to catch me.

I took in a shaky deep breath as I tired to regain composure. The tears had long stopped falling and had dried on my cheeks. My body shook as I let out my breath. I took a few more deep breath's before I lifted myself off the floor. My legs were still shaky as I clung to the island until I was sure I was able to hod myself up right. I felt as if I was learning to walk again. My legs felt as if they were going to give out again but they didn't. I managed to make it to the bathroom. I fell towards the sink and held onto it for dear life. It kept me up right as I stared at my reflection. My eyes were red from crying and my lips were dry. My chocolate complexion looked paler as if I had been ill and my hair clung to my forehead. I ran a shaky hand over my forehead, pushing my hair out of my face. I took another sallow breath as I stared into my own eyes. I saw nothing but a broken copy of what I used to be. Happiness and hope had disappeared from my eyes the moment Paul whispered "I love you" the night before. I knew it was the end of everything we had. That "I love you" sealed my fate.

I gingerly turned on the tap and slashed some cold water over my clammy face. I washed away the tears I had cried for the man I loved. They meant nothing to me know just like my love meant nothing to him. I sighed as I turned off the water and removed my boxers. My legs had stopped shaking and I was able to walk properly to the shower. I turned on the water and let the cold droplets run down my skin as images of Paul rushed through my mind. How I hated myself. As broken as he left me, I couldn't bring myself not to love him. My stone heart still beat for him or at least the memory of him. I closed my eyes, my forehead resting against the cool tiles.

"Damn you Paul." I whispered to myself. He had really fucked me up this time. I missed him with every fiber in my body and I wished he'd return with the same amount. I knew deep down it wasn't going to happen but my heart wanted to believe it was true. That Paul would change his mind and once I left the shower I'd find him in our room on his knee's begging for me to take him back. _"Yeah right."_ I mentally hissed. _"Paul's gone and he's never coming back."_

The tears welled in my eyes again as the reality hit me hard. My head was right. Paul wasn't coming back and I needed to move on and continue my life but my heart still wanted to hold onto that fragment of hope. I turned off the water and stepped out the shower and towel dried my hair before wrapping the same towel around my waist. I walked back into our bedroom, well my bedroom and looked around. It was the same, minus the lack of Paul's possessions. The bed was just how I left it, unmade and every picture that hung on the wall was still in place. I scanned each picture, they were all of me and Paul, and at that moment I decided I would move on. Not straight away. It would take me a long time to get over Paul but I had to hope and pray that one day I would find someone to help me forget.

I spent the rest of the morning removing every picture of Paul and I from there frames and placing in them in a box. I went from room to room cleaning and removing any trace of Paul. It hurt like hell to do it but I knew I need to. A constant reminder of Paul wouldn't do me any good. I had even went to the supermarket and brought myself new sheets. The old ones smelt too much of Paul. I sighed as I finished making my bed. My room felt slightly empty, it always had been with only a dresser, standing mirror, a bed, two bedside tables and a chair by the window but it had felt fuller with Paul in it. I neaten out the bed before opening the curtains. The sunlight shone through the window and made my room look cleaner than it was. I was pleased with myself. I had removed all the photo's and had replaced them with pictures of my parents and sister before there deaths.

In a few I had pictures of me and my old friend from back home. Her name was Emma. She had long brown hair that often looked red in the right light, with big brown eyes and pale skin. We were complete opposites, we were inseparable until it came time for me to be entered into the system. Her parents had considered adopting me but it was too late. I had already be shipped to another state. I had planned on returning home to find her. She had been the only one to understand me fully. She was the first one I told when I realized I was gay and she never judged me. We shared anything with each other. Before I left she promised me one day she'd find me and bring me home but she never came. I missed her like hell. I missed home but I knew it was too late to go back. We were both older and Emma had probably left our small home town behind like she said she would. I just prayed one day I'd see her again. Even if it was just for a moment, just to make sure everything turned out alright for her. When I thought of her now I imagined her married, with maybe a kid or two running around. I pictured her graduating college and doing something remarkable with her life. I wondered if she thought about me and how my life turned out. Would she be proud of me? When we were kids we had always pictured ourselves growing old together, as best friends not as lovers. I wanted to go to college and study medicine while she wanted to go to college and study business. I wondered if she pursued those dreams unlike me. I knew once my parents died my dream of going to college died with them. I just hoped she had accomplished everything she had said she would back when we were kids.

I smiled at the picture on the wall. We were both five years old and grinning like idiots, each of us missing our two front teeth, arms wrapped around each others shoulders. We were on the beach with our families a few months before my sister took her life. Back when everything seemed happy and peaceful.

I turned to the picture that hung next to it. It was the last picture anyone ever took of Abigail. She was 5 months pregnant, her chocolate skin glowed with happiness as he smiled at the camera with her right hand holding her small bump. She looked so young for her age. She didn't look a day over eighteen but my sister was twenty five. She had been so excited to become a parent but her partner had not. The father ran for the hills as soon as Abby told him she was expecting. It crushed her and we all thought she would have an abortion but she didn't. She had fallen in love with her unborn child and couldn't of been happier. The doctors never understood why she miscarried. It was a freak event of nature, that couldn't be expanded. The baby had been perfectly healthy and so had my sister yet it still happened. With no warning and no way of stopping it. It took Abigail three weeks to take her life, we had thought she would be okay. She seemed okay but the night after we found her in her bathroom with her wrist slit we found a note explaining why she had done it. She had loved us all very much but after losing her partner her heart broke and the only thing keep her together was her baby and losing him pushed her over the edge. We all cried for days. Weeping over Abigail and her unborn son. I missed my big sister so much but I knew she wouldn't want b=me dwelling on her death. She wanted us to be happy knowing that she was in a better place with her child.

I turned to the picture on the other side of the picture of myself and Emma, it was a picture of my parents. It was an old picture taken a little bit over 24 years ago. My mom, Carla, was seated on my fathers lap and from her facial expression she was laughing. My dad, Jonathan, was smiling at her with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes for his beautiful wife. He had one arm around her waist and another holding her very pregnant stomach. It was summer time and they we're outside on the porch swing in Emma's back yard. The picture had been taken by Emma's mother who had also been pregnant with Emma at the time. My parents looked so happy and content with their lives in the small town with their friends and visibly growing family. They had the love I wished for and thought I found.

I moved my eyes away from the wall and looked at the two pictures in frames on my bedside table. The first was portrait picture, another of me and Emma. We were older, both fourteen years old. We were in my families back garden with Emma on my back, her arms reaching upwards with a stupid duke face plastered on her pale face. I was laughing and looking at her with my shaggy afro in my eyes. The second was a landscape picture of my family. Again my parents where sitting on the porch swing, hand in hand smiling at the camera. The only difference being the thirteen year old girl, grinning the cheesiest grin I had ever seen in my life, sitting next to my mother and the toddler version of myself sitting on my father's lap looking lost at the camera. I gave the picture a small smile before turning to the photo's on Paul's old bedside table.

The first was a group photo of my family and Emma's. My parents had grown up with hers and they had stayed close through out the years. We were all standing on the beach, our parents in the middle with their arms wrapped around each others shoulders. They all grinned while myself and Abby stood in front of our parents. I was doing some cheesy peace sign pose while Abby stood tall and smiled at the camera. Emma and her three brothers; Mitchel and Donny stood in front of there parents while Jackson, the eldest, stood next to Julie Copeland with his arm around her shoulders. Donny and Mitchel had there arms around each others shoulders , smiling like fools at the camera while Emma stood next to him doing the same pose as I. I grinned at the contrast between the two families. The Copeland's being pale white with a mixture of brown, red and blonde hair. They all shared the same brown eyes and the similar features. My family were of chocolate complexion, the darkest being my father and the lightest being me. My dad was bald and had a grey bread while my mom still had her youth and barely looked a day over thirty - five years of age. My sister looked as beautiful as ever with her pearly whites on show and I just looked like me. With the same mop of hair and features.

The second picture was of me and my mom. God I missed her. The picture was of us wrapped in her arms in the rocking chair in my nursery. I looked around a year old as I slept peacefully in her arms. I had a tiny mop of hair which hinted to my age. My mom was creasing my cheek as I lay on her chest, a small content smile was on her lips as she held me as I slept.

I missed my family. Now more than ever I wished I had spent more time with them. I knew if I wanted to I could return home and reunite with the Copeland's but something in my heart told me to stay in Forks. So I did. I never planned on settling in Forks. I had been shipped here when I was sixteen years old after being moved from another foster home. My social worker had promised this would be the last move and I'd be living in Forks until my eighteenth birthday when I decided what I wanted to do with my life. I had planned to return home as soon as my eighteenth birthday came around but then I met Paul and everything had changed. I stay in Forks for him and never once in the past 6 years I had been with Paul regretted staying in Forks but I still didn't leave. Like I said my heart told me to stay.

I gave my room the once over before returning to the kitchen/living room were I began changing all the photos of Paul and me into pictures of my past, my home, my friends, my family. Even though I had lived in this place for almost three years with Paul I had believed it to be home but now with the pictures of my past decorating the walls and sleeves it finally felt more like home than ever before.

"Knock knock"

I turned to the door. I didn't have many friend's in Forks so I didn't know who was knocking on my door. It couldn't of been the landlord as I had paid the rent two days before. My heart skipped the beat at the idea that it could of been Paul. I rolled my eyes at my heart as I got up and walked to the door. I knew it wasn't Paul who waited on the other side of the door.


	3. Thank God For Hometowns

**When The Morning Breaks Us**

**Summary: **Shaun was used to being used. He was used by the man he loved everyday and he allowed it but now his lover is finished with him and Shaun is left broken. Can another mend his broken heart?

* * *

**Songs That Inspired This Chapter:**

Thank God for Hometowns by Carrie Underwood

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**- Thank God For Hometowns -**

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**Jacob's Provo**

He was anything I expected. First off he was a he! But that didn't matter. I fell in love the moment I looked into his beautiful eyes. Had Paul been so stupid to leave this gorgeous man behind? Sure Rachel is beautiful and my sister but the man in front of me is just better. I couldn't help but stare at him for what felt like forever but had probably been a few moments.

"Hello?" He smiled slightly, trying to hide the pain in his eyes.

I felt my heart reach for him. All I wanted to do is hold him in my arms and fix his obviously broken heart. "Hi.. I'm Jacob. Jacob Black." I replied as I stretched out my hand for him to shake. As soon as his hand touched mine I felt sparks.

"Shaun, Shaun Bennett." He mumbled. I gave him my best smile. "I just moved in and was trying to get to know my neighbors." I lied. Well not really. If I had to move into this apartment building to get to know this broken angel I would. I could tell he needed help mending his broken heart. I wondered how Paul could of broken such a beautiful creature. How much Paul must of meant to him to break him so badly.

"Oh okay, well if you ever need to borrow a cup of sugar or a light bulb don't hesitate to knock on my door." He smiled. I could see straight through it. He had this smile plastered across a face that hid so much pain and hurt.

"Thank you Shaun." I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." I gave him a small smile before taking my leave. I listened to him close the door after me before I bolted back to LaPush.

* * *

**Shaun's Provo**

I hadn't expected that. That handsome man. Jacob.

He was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. With his tanned skin, short jet black hair and muscles. Oh his muscles. He almost made me forget out Paul if it weren't for the fact they looked so alike. They could of been brothers, or distant cousins. I sighed as I ran my hand throw my hair and leaned against my door. _Why God? Why did you send me another Paul? _

Of course it was wrong of me to compare Jacob to Paul by only judging by looks but the chip on my shoulder told me not to go there. It had only been a few hours since my heart was stomped on by the man I loved yet it was jumping at the idea of Jacob and myself. Was my heart really that naive? Jacob also looked as straight as a ruler. There was no way possible he could ever be interested in me even if I wanted him to be. I hadn't even gotten over Paul and here I was having a school girl crush on a man I just met. "Curse you naive heart." I mumbled as I went back to my cleaning.

_A Few Weeks Later_

It had been three weeks since my break up with Paul. My heart was still shattered but I could tell I was slowly but surely on the mend. Sort of. Everyday I woke up with the numbing pain in my chest but by the time I lay my head to rest the following night it was almost gone. It was a cruel cycle but I could tell it was just my healing process. I felt a little bit better every day, it wasn't a lot but I was getting a little happier. It was main thanks to Jacob.

He had moved into the apartment above mine and it started with a few hello's on the stairways, then a few late dinners at the diner when neither of us could be asked to cook for ourselves. He had offered to pay the first time now we had found ourselves splitting the bill every Thursday night at are local diner. He didn't pry about my relationship with Paul but he could tell I was still hurting, instead he was becoming my favorite shoulder to cry on. I guess he often heard me crying at night and he would knock on my door just to hold me while I cried. I was so thankful for his friendship but it didn't stop my school crush growing everyday, much to my heads dismay.

He had been there to hold me when I got that phone call that changed my world. It had been a week after Jacob had moved in when my cell phone rang. I thought it was work calling to see if I could work an extra shift while my heart hoped it was Paul calling to see if I was alright.

It was neither.

It was Benjamin Copeland. Emma's father and my fathers best friend. He had found my number in the yellow pages after I had been listed. He and his wife, Julie had been trying to find me since I turned eighteen in hopes I'd return home but had no luck. They had planned to phone me the day they found my number but Julie had died in a car accident the following day which lead Benjamin to phone me that day. To invite me to her funeral.

I couldn't believe it. Julie was gone. She was like my second mother for so many years and now she was gone. In heaven with my parents and sister. And I never got to say goodbye. After saying goodbye to Benjamin, I cried. I don't know how long for but the day had turn to night by the time Jacob came to my rescue. He held me as I cried waterfalls and listened to me all night as I could him stories of my past back home.

So I guess that leads us to where we are now. I sat in Jacob's car as he drove down the free way towards Graceland, Virginia. I stared out the window as the bleak forests of Forks, Washington turned into the sunny farmlands of Graceland. How I missed the sun. Sure we got it in Forks but nothing beats Graceland's sunny weather. I stuck my arm out of the window and let the wind fly through my fingers as we drove through farm lands. A smile small graced my lips as I closed my eyes and breathed in the Virginia air. _I'm home._

Jacob chuckled as he must of taken a quick look at me before turning back to the roads. I was happy to have him with me. I could tell I would need a friend when I buried my second mother. I couldn't believe Julie was gone. How I would miss her.

"Hey sleeping beauty," Jacob laughed as he shook my shoulder. I was so absorbed in my own little world I hadn't felt the car stop. "we're here." I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the white picket fence that surrounded the Copeland house. I was just how I remembered it. White wood paneling porch swing and roses blooming in the front yard. I continued to stare at the house as I got out of Jacob's car. He was already out and grabbing out bag from the boot. I slowly closed the door and waited for Jacob to come with the bags.

"You ready?" He asked as he slowly approached me, our bags in this left hand. I nodded and lanced my fingers through the fingers of his free hand. He gave me a gentle smile before heading me toward the front door. I gingerly pushed the door open, it felt foreign to do so but so familiar at the same time. The place still looked the same expect there were even more pictures on the walls. It still had that homely feel to it. I felt at home.

"Shaun?" A deep voiced echoed through the hallway from the living room. I let go of Jacob's hand and followed the voice to the room I used to sit in with Emma, in our pajamas while we had sleepovers. I stood in the door way and gave the man who stood by the fireplace staring at a picture of his late wife. Benjamin Copeland was visibly older than when I had last seen him. Most of his dusty blonde hair had gone grey and he had a few wrinkles around his eyes but he still had his youthful good looks. He looked up from the picture with tears in his eyes. He stared at me.

"You look so much like your mother." He sobbed. I saw it in his eyes, not only was he grieving for his wife but my parents as well. He must miss them as much of I did. "Julie wanted so badly to see you again." He chocked on a sob. I felt the tears well in my eyes.

"She was so happy, she was sure she had finally found the right number. She called Emma and the boys." He rubbed his eyes. "I thought it was another dead end like the other times before."

My breathing hitched.

"But she was so sure and here you are." Benjamin looked in my eyes are he let his tears fall. "We've missed you so much." He cried as he broke down crying. I ran forward and held the man who had been a second father to me much like Julie had been a second mother. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come home." I cried.

I stared at the moon and stars as I sat on the Copeland's porch swing. Benjamin had gone to bed after we regained our composure and shared stories over dinner. He had welcomed Jacob like he had welcomed me all those years ago, he gave up Emma's old room which he and Julie had converted into a guest room when Emma moved out after getting married. I was happy to hear she had gone to college and got her degree but had also gotten married and had a son in her final year of college. Benjamin was sadden by the fact I had not gone to college like my parents had planned but knew it wasn't my fault. We talked about my parents, my childhood, my sister, Julie. We had so much to catch up on but had decided to call it a night so Benjamin turned in while Jacob packed the last of our things into the dresser in the guest room.

The cool breeze felt good against my skin as I slowly swung back and forth on the swing. This reminded me so much of my family I felt like I was five years old again, without a care in the world. With my family inside having fun and telling jokes with the Copeland's but I knew it wasn't at all like that now. I would never see my parents or sister and Emma, her brothers and father would never see Julie again. The reality of it all really sucked.

"Can I join you?" I heard a deep voice ask from the door way, I turned and smiled.

"Sure." I mumbled as I a moved over so Jacob could sit beside me. He carefully sat next to me and wrapped his muscled arm around my shoulder. A shiver went down my spine as he did.

"You okay?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It just feels so different." I took a deep breath. "Being back here. Being home."

Jacob stared at me.

"I haven't been here since I was fourteen and the last memories I have here are all bad. Now after all this time I come home because.." I chocked on a sob. "Because Julie's dead. I should of come home along time ago. Maybe things would of been better."

"Maybe Shaun, but then you wouldn't of met me." Jacob gave me a small half smile as he gently pushed my shoulder. I smiled at his attempt to lighten the mood as I cuddled into his side. "I don't know what I'd do without you Jake." I took a deep breath of his scent as I clung to his t shirt. "You came in my life just when I needed you the most."

I felt Jacob tighten his grip around me. He kissed the top of my hair. "No Shaun, I don't know what I'd do without you." He mumbled into my hair.

We stayed in silence after that.


End file.
